Escaping the Day of Destruction
by Rev. Kirby Williams
The urgency of following Jesus with our whole hearts and thereby escaping the 'day of destruction'.
Text: Luke 17:31-37
Date: 11/03/2024, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 168
Description:
Jesus wraps up His eschatological discussion of the "days of the Son of Man" with a sequence of warnings to His disciples to "flee the wrath to come" by leaving the things of the world behind and hearkening to His call to radical discipleship. Using the imagery of the Eschaton, Jesus' eye is on the present and the danger to our souls of placing so much value on the "goods in our houses" that we are caught unawares on the "day the Son of Man is revealed". We will return to the principles of grace and judgment in the days of Lot and Noah and the graphic images of the dangers of "looking back" and longing for the possessions and seductions of this world rather than "seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness". Ultimately we will recognize the oft-repeated and urgent call to follow Jesus with our whole hearts and thereby escape the day of destruction!
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, Phil. 3:7-8, 1:21; Matt. 16:26.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 17:31-37.
A. Context
B. Preparing for the Day of the Son of Man.
1. Setting the stage, vs. 31a.
a. The importance of "the day", Luke 17:27,29,30.
b. Redefining the "days of the Son of man".
i. The days of Jesus' ministry, Luke 17:22.
ii. The days of Godless living, Luke 17:26-28.
iii. The "day" of judgment, Luke 17:24,27,28,30.
2. The urgency of departure, vs. 31b.
a. Two images of "departure".
i. The rooftop analogy.
ii. The workers in the field.
b. The meaning in Luke's context.
i. Matthew's focus on 70AD.
ii. Luke's focus on the Eschaton.
3. Leaving the world behind, vs. 32.
a. The analogy of Lot's wife, Gen. 19:16-17, 26.
b. The clear focus of Jesus' teaching, Luke 9:23,62, 12:33-34, 14:26, 16:13; 1John 2:15-17; Phil. 3:8; 2Pet. 2:20.
4. The paradox, vs. 33.
a. The life "lost".
i. Splitting the audience.
ii. Holding on to the world.
1) A serious effort.
2) Preserving something for oneself.
3) The meaning of "life".
iii. Losing it all.
b. The life "kept", Rev. 2:11.
c. The danger of the "art of living".
5. The profound separation of the Gospel, vs. 34-35.
a. Probing the analogies.
i. Two asleep in the same bed, vs. 34; Gen. 15:12.
ii. Two women at work, vs. 35.
b. Interpreting the meaning, Matt. 24:31, 25:32-33, 26:56; John 3:18, 14:3; Luke 16:22-23.
c. Going beyond the Eschaton, James 4:4.
6. The grizzly ending, vs. 37.
a. The slowness of the disciples, Luke 17:20, 24; Acts 1:6.
b. Exploring the imagery.
i. An image of visibility.
ii. An image of coming judgment, Rev. 19:19-21.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
